Puffed food product and process of producing the same



N.. MININBERG. PUFFED F000 PRODUCT AND PROCESS 0F PRODUCING THE SAME.v

A v APPLICATION FILED VJUNE I0. I92I.

Patented Auw. 229 i922.

NATHAN MLNINBERG, 01? DIC'KENSON, NQRTH DAKQTA, ASSEGNOR T BEAN 'BRGDUCTS CQEEPANY, F IDECXNSON, "NORTH DAKQTA A CORPORATION OF'NGRTH IDZIEA.

soon rnoooc'r ininrnocnss or rsonocme 'ssen simian.

application led June 10,

To all wzom 't may con cem:

Be it known that l, NATHAN lvlirrluuue, a citizen of the United States. residing at Dickinson, in the county of Stark and State of North Dakota, have invented certain new and' useful lmprovements in Pulled Food Products and Processes of Producing the Same; and l do hereby declare the tollowingr to be a tull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others -skilled in the art to which it appertains to ess, and in the novel 1ood pro-duct resulting' therefrom, all as will be more Aiully disclosed below and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying rawings forming a part of this speciiicetion, in which like numerals designate like parts in all the views:

Figure 1 is e. diagrammatic sectional ele vational view of one form of apparatus suitable for carrying out a. port-ion ot the present process;

Figure 2 is an end elevational view ot the parts shown in Figure 1, as seen from the left or" said ligure;

Fig-:ure 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view of one or" the feeding tubes and its associated parte;

Figure 4 is an inverted pla-n view or the springI controlling members illustrated in Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged diagrammatic sectional View ot a Wheat grain or kernel.l

ln my cope'nding application, Serial No. 463,957, tiled April 23, 1921, entitled Flaked "food product and process of producing the same, l have disclosed a. new bran 'food product composed of the three outermost layers 01' the wheat kernel suitably seasoned, cooked, liaked, and toasted. rllie present invention, on the'other handcontemplates the production of a puffed food in the nature and form of a bubble, which new food will Specification of Letters Patent. Pjtmfggd ugn 229 192W ll. Serial lo. 476,513.

likewise be composed of the three outer layers of the Wheat kernel above mentioned, suitably cooked and pulled.

'ln .carryinga out fthe process 'forming part ot the present invention. l first preparerin an)v suitable manner a ilour composed or" the outer layers 1,2 and 3 and@ of the wheat kernels` see Figure outermost husk 4or bran layer, while the layers 2 and 3 are composed principally of nitro'genous material and certain complex salts of. phosphorus and potassium. The layers el and 5 contain a cercaline substance which imparts color and iiavor 'to the kernel, the layer 6 is mostly gluten, the layer 7. mostly starcliy materials, and 8 is fie germ, containing the easily soluble organic salts that supply vitality and rirst nourish# ment to the embryo plant.

Artt-er preparing the flour trom' the three outer layers ot the wheat kernel, as above disclosed, l preferably reduce the temperature thereof to from 400 lll to 45 This cooling of the bran, l have found from actual experiment, later facilitates the torination of the dough from which the puffs formed, giving' it a more reven consistency. The bran flour is next introduced in boiling' water, in Isubstantially the proportions et l part of bran to e parts of water, the mixture being continuously stirred to insure a thorough moistening and cooking of each individual particle of the solid matt/er.

rlhe heatingr and stirring of the mass are continued until substantially 25% or', the' water has evaporated. lt is then stopped and three parts of cold'ivater are added, to-

gether withv suitable condiments or llavoin ing materials such as sugar, salt, spices, etc. The mass is now cooled to between 130 and 160.0 F., resulting in a relatively thick, tough dough remarkably Jfree from lumps. The dough is now ready to be pulled and this may be accomplished by suitably subdividing it into relatively` small drops or pellets, and subjecting these to a temperature or' substantially 6000 l*1 orfrom 10 to 15 minutes.

rllhe putting operation may loe-conveniently carried out by! employing; the apparatus shown in Figures 1 tol 4 of the drawings,

wherein 10 indicates an endless belt, prelierably of metal, passing around e pair oli rolls 11 and 12, mounted respectively upon the shafts 13 and lll, journalled 1n the stand The layer 1 is the lll@ ards and 16. The said standards are y provided with the extensions 17 and 18,

forming supports for a housingl9, having apertures 20 and 21 in its end walls 22 and 23 respectively through which the said belt 10 may pass. suitably Supported beneath the bottom 24 of the housing 19 is a heating element 25, here shown as a. fluid fuel burner, which may be fed from a pipe 26, and which is adapted to raise the temperature within the chamber 27 enclosed by the said housing to the desired point. i

The shaft 14 carries a pulley 30, around which passes a belt 31, connected to any suitable source of power, not' shown, while the shaft 13 carries a pulley 32` adapted 1 to supply power through a belt 33 and pulley 34 to a transverse shaft 35, journalled in the upward extensionsv 36 with which the standards 15 are provided. Secured between the extensions 36 is a cross bar 37,

provided with the downwardly extending guide rods 38, which enter sockets 39 ing connected respectively to the receptacleV formed upon the ends of the receptacle 40. The said receptacle is resiliently hung -upon the tension springs 41, surrounding the guide rods 38, the ends of the said springs be- 40 and the cross bar 37.

Mounted upon the top of the receptacle 40 is a roller 42, adapted to be engaged by a toothed wheel43, carried by a jack shaft 44, upon which is mounted a bevel gear 45, meshing with a companion gear 46,- carried by the transverse shaft 35, see Figure 1. Itthus results that. when the shaft 35 is rotated by means of the belt 33 and pulleys 32 and 34, the toothed wheel 43 will be revolved through its 'shaft 44, and the bevel gears 45 and 46, and its teeth will press down on the roller 42, thereby moving the receptacle 40 downwardl against the tension of the springs 41. hen the depressions between the teeth of the wheel 43 register withthe roller 42, the springs 41 will of course, return the receptacle 40 to its upper pos1t1on, all for a purpose which .will more fully appear below.

The bottom of the receptacle 40 -is yprovided with a plurality of tubular outlets 50, discharging in close proximity to the traveling belt 10. Each of the tubes 50 has associated with it an automatic cut-oil' device, here shown as a pair of oppositely disposed sprlng leaves 51 and 52, provided'with the bent portions 53 and 54, extending beneath the discharge end of the said tubes, and cut away as at 55 and 56, see Figures 3 and 4. Rollers 57 and 58, supported from a bar 59 rigidiwith the standards 15, bear against the spring leaves 51 and 52 respec tively, .and when the receptacle 40 is in 1ts uppermost position, force the angularly d1sposed portions 53 and 54 across the mouths of the tubes 50, thereby cutting of reciprocated up and down, in the manner above disclosed. As it moves downwardly, the suring leaves 51 and 52 will move outwardly, permitting the dough to pass down through the tubes and issue therefrom in the form of a small roll. As .the hopper 40 moves upward again, the leaves 51 and 52 will be pressedftogether again by the rollers 57 and 58, thus cutting off the dough in the form of small tablets or ellets, which are deposited upon the travelling belt 10, which carries-them into and through the pulling and drying chamber 27, where they are subjected to a temperature ofyapproximately 600 F. for a period of from ten to fifteen minutes. The temperature and time may be varied somewhat without' injuring the final product, but those above given have been found to produce very satisfactory results. .1 f

This heating will cause the moisture and air which are entrained in the dough to eX- pand, which results in the pellets swelling up, somewhat after the manner ofV puffed wheat or rice, and when they finally emerge from the chamber 27 they are in the form of a palatable golden brown thin shell. They may be consumed in this state, if desired, or

they may be further treated by placing them in a steam crisper and toasting them for a short time.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the steps constitutinglthe process, as well as the ingredients and t e exact proportions thereof employed in producing the product, without departin from the Spirit of the invention, and there ore I do not w1sh to be limited to the above disclosure except as may be required by the claims.

What I claim is 1. The process of producing a pued food product which consists in boiling a mixture of cereal bran and water to form a doug like mass; cooling said mass; subdividlng said mass into relatively smallportions; an subjecting said portions toa temperature above 400 F. and not 'exceeding 700 F., whereby the .air and moisture therem are caused to expand and pu said portions, substantially as described.

2. The process of producin a pued food -product which consists in bo` ing a mixture of cerealbran and water to form a doughlike mass; coolingIk said massto below 165 F.; subdividing said mass into relatively small portions; and subjecting. said portions to a temperature of substantially" 6000 F., whereby the airand moisture therein are caused to expand and puff said portions, substantially as described. I

8. rllhe process of producing a puffed Jr'ood product whichconsists in providing a flour composed of the bran portion, the nitrogenous matter, and the phosphorus and potassium salts of a cereal grain; mixing said flour with water to form a dough-like mass;

cooking said mass; cooling said mass; dividing said mass into relatively small portlons;

and subjecting said portions to a temperature ot' substantially 6009'l4`., whereby the air and moisture therein are caused toexpand and puff said portions, substantially as described. v

4. The process of producing a puffed food product which consists in providing a'flour composed of the bran portlon, the nitrogenous matter, and the p osphorus and potassium salts of a cereal grain; mixing sa-id flour with boiling water to form a doughlike mass; heating said mass; cooling said mass to below 165 F dividing said mass into relatively small portions; and subjectingr said portions to a temperature of substan- .tially'600 F., whereby the airand moisture therein are caused to expand and putt said portions, substantially as described.

The process of producing a puffed food product which consists in providing a flour composed of the bran portion, the nitrogenous matter, and the phosphorus and potassium salts of a cereal grain; cooling said Hour to a temperature below 50 F.; mixing said flour with boiling .water to form. a dough-like mass; maintaining the temperature ot' the mass at substantially 212 F until a substantial portion of said water thin shell composed of cereal bran having associated with vit the nitrogenous portion of the cereal grain. j

7 The herein described new food product comprising a pu in the, form of a palatable thin shell composed of cereal bran having associated with it the phosphorus and potassium salts of the cereal grain.

In testimony whereof l afix m si nature.

NATHAN 'MIN NB RG. 

